In tell-all, lobbyist talks Ind.'s 'religious freedom' law

Curt Smith, president of the Indiana Family Institute, speaks to supporters of religious liberty legislation making its way through the Indiana General Assembly in Indianapolis on Feb. 9, 2015. Smith has a new book which includes some behind-the-scenes details about the battle of Indiana's religious freedom law.(Photo: Charlie Nye, The Indianapolis Star)

In his 93-page, self-published book Deicide, Indiana Family Institute President Curt Smith argues that removing God from the public square is destroying America. The book features a tattered American flag on the cover and includes a 12-page section called “RFRA Riffraff” devoted to Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The law set a judicial standard for weighing religious objections to government action, but critics feared it would be used to justify discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the name of religion. The measure thrust Indiana into the center of a national debate over gay rights and religious liberty.

Here are some of the more interesting political tidbits from Smith's book:

Pence’s national ambitions

Smith was in communication with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and his staff throughout the process. In fact, Pence even gave Smith the "fourth and final pen" he used to sign the law during a closed door ceremony, Smith writes.

Still, Smith openly speculates about the role the governor’s national ambitions played in his decision just one week later to sign a so-called “fix” to the law that would prevent it from undermining local anti-discrimination measures.

On the eve of Pence’s disastrous appearance on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Smith said he “expressed grave reservations” about the governor’s plan to announce a legislative fix on national television. But Smith said Pence’s staff assured him there would be no “backpedaling” on the substance, principles and content of the law.

“I wondered to myself what role presidential politics played in this decision,” Smith writes. “Pence was frequently mentioned as a presidential contender in 2016, and while he has not addressed this publicly, I wondered if his decision to pursue a ‘fix’ on national TV was a concession to national politics.”

A few pages later, Smith writes, “It is obvious by his elevation to the national ticket as Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential candidate that his decision did not complicate his future in national politics. The true winner in this regard, I believe, is America.”

No opportunity to negotiate

There’s been much speculation about what role the governor played in crafting the fix. The consensus in the halls of the Statehouse last year was that he was effectively sidelined after dodging a series of questions about the law on Stephanopoulos. Pence’s widely ridiculed performance “took the political bonfire to a true political wildfire,” Smith said.

Pence’s weakened position seems to be confirmed in one exchange that Smith recounts.

On the morning that the fix was announced, Pence called Smith on his cellphone.

“Seemingly, his key aides were learning the details at the same time, as I heard his chief of staff (Jim Atterholt) comment in the background, ‘Governor, I don’t think we have any opportunity to negotiate,’ as I made suggestions,” Smith writes.

Thirty pieces of silver

Smith makes sure to note in his book that the “fix” was announced on Maundy Thursday. He even includes a footnote informing readers that Maundy Thursday is “the evening when Christ had dinner with His apostles and Judas decided to betray Him for thirty pieces of silver.”

Taking aim at critics

Smith takes shots at several critics of the law, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and former Angie’s List CEO Bill Oesterle. He criticizes The Indianapolis Star, too.

“Then Tim Cook of Apple fame tweeted out he thought this was a bad idea too. His 140 characters in social media, of course, gave a solid, legal, rational basis for opposing the majority actions of the 150 elected officials comprising the Indiana legislature,” Smith writes.

He later says Oesterle had joined an “unholy alliance” of business leaders threatening economic reprisals if lawmakers didn’t change the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

And he accuses The Indianapolis Star of pillorying “any legislator who dared suggest religious liberty was greater than commerce, the sexual revolution, or political correctness.”

Smith recounts rumors (“rampant — but never confirmed,” he writes) that a major sports organization — perhaps the NCAA or the Indiana Pacers — would announce during Final Four weekend plans to leave Indiana if Pence didn’t sign the fix.

“We do not know, of course, the pressure the governor was under. I believe he did what he believed was best for Indiana and I describe what he went through as having not one gun pointed at his head, but ten guns, all cocked and ready to fire absent his signature,” Smith writes. “The Governor would later say to me the guns were not pointed at his head, but at Indiana.”